Fort Worth Central Business District

December 19, 2007

Increasing efforts to lease the mineral rights under approximately 800 acres in and around Fort Worth’s central business district have prompted Downtown Fort Worth Inc. to ask if its members if they prefer to negotiate as a group rather than individually.

Andy Taft, president of the business group, which also owns the mineral rights to 12 acres of its own property downtown and has received several leasing inquiries, said he plans to send letters to his members in early January. If enough property owners are interested, "we’ll form a working committee to negotiate with the gas companies," he said. Downtown Fort Worth Inc. will not be on the committee, since some of its members are petroleum companies, he said.